Vending machines are widely used to dispense beverages, food, and other perishable and nonperishable goods. The products dispensed by vending machines come in various sizes. At present, vending machines can be manually adjusted to accommodate the various product sizes by manually selecting predetermined depth settings for the product dispensing mechanisms of the vending machine.
Generally, many vending machines, particularly those that dispense beverages, have column walls or partitions between which the individual bottles or cans and the like are stacked in a vertical column. At the bottom of each stack is a dispensing mechanism that dispenses a selected bottle or can after receipt of payment by the vending machine.
One type of dispensing mechanism is known as a bucket type mechanism. Bucket type dispensing mechanisms have a partial cylindrical shape that accommodates within it a row of bottles or cans that is positioned laterally relative to the length of the cylinder. A portion of the circumference of the cylinder, however, is open, therefore allowing the bottles or cans to enter into, and exit from the bucket at various stages of the vend cycle.
In operation, a motor or other rotational means rotates the bucket about its axis. A gauging means, appropriately located below the bucket, is used to create steps of various sizes, which generally correspond to the length of the individual cans or bottles being dispensed. The opening in the bucket is of a sufficient size so that when rotated to a certain point, the first bottle or can is free to fall out of the bucket dispenser and into the product chute through which it is dispensed to the customer, while the next-to-vend bottle or can remains in the bucket, held by the next gauging step.
During subsequent vends, the bucket rotates to expose the next bottle or can, allowing it to fall. After all products have been dispensed from the bucket, the dispensing mechanism continues through the reload phase of the vend cycle whereby the next row of products enter the bucket in preparation for the subsequent vending cycles. Thus, products are initially seated within the bucket, but are unseated and dispensed as the bucket rotates.
Typically, it is highly desirable to maximize the number of products that can be stored in the vending machine's product storage compartment, while minimizing the number of product dispensing mechanisms inside each vending machine. Most common vending machines can be configured to various depth settings to accommodate products of various lengths. For example, a vending machine with a product holding stack that can accommodate rows of four cans, can generally be reconfigured to accommodate rows of two bottles (bottles are approximately twice as long as cans).
At present, two common methods are used by vending machines to adjust their product depth settings. The first method is to use cams and switches which can be manually adjusted to vary the number of stopping positions for an individual product dispensing mechanism. The second method is to program the depth setting for each product dispensing mechanism into the vending machine controller (VMC). Programming the VMC is normally achieved by entering the service mode in the VMC program and adjusting the depth setting for each product dispensing mechanism to a number that corresponds to the appropriate product depth. For example, a setting of “1” is for single depth, “2” for double depth, “3” for triple depth, etc.
The current methods for adjusting product depth settings place heavy reliance on the initial, manual selection of a depth setting. If the initial depth settings are set incorrectly (an unfortunate, but common occurrence), the errors leads to undesirable outcomes. Often, operators of the vending machine may not detect the errors and its undesirable outcomes for long periods of time, which result in poor customer satisfaction and operator losses. One type of error occurs when the product depth setting is set to a number higher than the actual product depth. For example, an error occurs when the product depth is set to “4”, and the actual product depth is “2” (for double depth bottles). With this type of error, only two products will be successfully dispensed for every four attempts to purchase from the vending machine. The other two attempts will result in the consumers losing their money.
A second type of error occurs when the product depth setting is set to a number lower than the actual product depth. For example, product depth is set to “2”, and the actual product depth is “4” (quadruple depth cans). With this type of error, one out of every two attempts to purchase from the vending machine will result in three products being dispensed. The purchaser benefits from the error by receiving three items from the price of one, to the detriment of the vending machine operator.
The errors described above occur frequently in existing vending machines and lead to highly undesirable and costly outcomes for operators of vending machines.
Therefore, there is a need for an invention that allows a vending machine to self-learn the product depth setting of a product dispensing mechanism and automatically self-adjust that setting, thereby avoiding the errors described above.